Category: Great Writing

Parasite – Bong Joon Ho’s latest film Parasite does almost everything right. It is an incredibly creative take on how people from lower classes constantly prop up those above, even if they do not know it.

The film focuses on the Kim family, that lives at the edge of poverty. When the son’s (Kim Ki-woo) friend Min offers him a job tutoring English for a girl from a rich family, he accepts. Changing his name to Kevin, he recommends his sister as an art teacher for the rich family’s son, who poses as Jessica. Before they know it, the whole Kim family is posing as different workers at the rich Park estate. Then suddenly the film gets darker.

The director’s take on income inequality and social commentary is approached with humor, but is it at its best when it gets dark. My biggest problem is with the ending of the film, which I do not think works quite as well as the director seems to. While it is creative up to that point, the how and why of getting their does not always fit. Regardless, this is still a film I recommend highly. It swings for the fences, but it comes up just short in my book. B+

It’s a singular episode of television that asks us to consider the nature of inheritance and the ways trauma is etched upon a family, passed down through generations.

*This contains spoilers for HBO’s Watchmen, if you have not seen it yet stop what you are doing and watch it.*

Watchmen’slatest episode is nothing short of brilliant. Damon Lindelof and his team have pulled off the impossible, making a new story in the Watchmen universe while also enhancing the original.

The big reveal in episode 6, was that (SPOILER ALERT) Hooded Justice, the original masked vigilante, was black. It fits in perfectly with the canon, and allows race to become a central feature of the story itself.

I think I have said this before, but Watchmen is one of the best comic books and pieces of literature that has ever be written. Creating this show was an impossible task, but Lindelof and his team are passing with flying colors. If you have not read the novel or seen this show, those are two things you need to change.

I don’t want to hear Biden say “I still stutter” to prove some grand point; I want to hear him say it because doing so as a presidential candidate would mean that stuttering truly doesn’t matter—for him, for me, or for our 10-year-old selves.

Finally, this is an excellent piece on Joe Biden, and how his stutter might still be affecting him. It is a great example of narrative journalism that I all encourage you all to read. Have a happy thanksgiving everyone!

Ash is Purest White – This movie was not made for me or many of the people that read this blog. However, it is full of beautiful movements and moving historical portraits of Chinese Society. Watching the transition of Bin and Qiao from confident and smooth to brutalized and chiseled is genuinely fascinating to watch. I also loved Zhao Tao as Qiao; she captures the transformation of Qiao beautifully. Watching her sacrifice and struggle to save a dying relationship is brilliant and heartbreaking.

My biggest problem with this movie is that it is too slow. It can feel dragging and it requires a deep knowledge of Chinese History to understand all of the themes. Much is touched upon outside of the relationship between Qiao and Bin, mainly the change of China itself. Without it, many of the sweeping and slow-developing themes are hard to understand. While part of the joy in this movie is about thinking and reading upon it after, I have to be honest to my experience in the theater. There were times when I just wanted the movie to end. I would check my watch, groan, and continue. Some of this is by design, as you can feel the change in their relationship slowly grind to a halt. However, it is a stylistic choice that breeds boredom. Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame is nearly 30 minutes longer, and yet it never felt as if it was slow or dragging. This movie felt much longer. However, for the right audience, this film is a must-watch. It is not an easy movie to enjoy but if you spend the time with it, you will be rewarded. 7.5/10

Fluoridation of drinking water seems to help reduce tooth decay in children, but there is insufficient evidence that it does the same for adults. Some data suggest that regular flossing, in addition to brushing, mitigates gum disease, but there is only “weak, very unreliable” evidence that it combats plaque. As for common but invasive dental procedures, an increasing number of dentists question the tradition of prophylactic wisdom-teeth removal; often, the safer choice is to monitor unproblematic teeth for any worrying developments.

I hate the dentist and I am sure I am not alone. I have always been lazy about oral hygiene, so part of my interest in this article is my need to undermine dentistry in any way. However, this article points out plenty of troubling problems with dentistry. Oral hygiene is certainly important, but if we cannot guarantee a certain level of quality from dentistry we need to seriously question how we should take care of our teeth. Even if you love the dentist, this is a brilliant article worthy of a read.

Jaws– I have a lot of odd hot takes from this movie, but I really enjoyed it. My biggest problem with this movie is that characters often say lines that are so on the nose, it is hard to understand why they bothered. Certain things are implied, and do not need to be repeated. The continuous repetition of the amount of money will be lost is absurd. Also, lines about the shark being dangerous are at times brilliant and at times unneeded. Also, most of what Quint says are the same types of lines said in slightly different ways. This movie could have been cut by a half-an-hour. If it is not needed, there is not point in having it.

However, the suspense and drama are all there and still effective. Not showing the shark for most of the movie is an incredibly smart decision by Spielberg. It allows us to envision the shark in our heads rather than see the shark and not be scared. This creates for an incredibly shocking and fun finale, which makes up for the at times crawling pace. I think it is a very good movie, but overrated. Roy Schneider as Chief Brody is easily my favorite character, but not enough to bring up Quint in my view. 7/10

Biggest Hot Take: Can we please get Mayor Vaughn a normal looking Jacket? Those sport coats are terrible. Also, can Quint please not say another line referring to “his day” or “kids these days”? We got it the first time.

The collapse of manufacturing jobs has been to poor whites what the elite college-admissions crunch has been to wealthy ones: a smaller and smaller slice of pie for people who were used to having the fattest piece of all.

Caitlin Flanagan is one of my favorite writers today. Her content at the Atlantic is always well-written, and unique. She generally brings out the take that I could not quite say, and says it much better than I ever could. Here is a great example, using her time as a College Counselor and High School teacher, she analyzes exactly how and why many parents resorted to this lowly behavior in order to get their children in to good schools.

Growing up in a more well off area, all of this behavior makes sense. People forget that college educations are often not about the kids themselves, but about the status of the parents. Plenty of parents who went to traditionally great schools, are increasingly angry that it is no longer a guarantee their kid will be able to attend as well. Many parents feel it is a reflection upon themselves.

While this is not the case, and I would argue having hundreds of thousands of dollars in your pocket is a better investment, this is not the last time we will here of scandals like this. As college admissions get more difficult, the population of entitled parents will only continue to grow.

Like this:

But will Mueller prove it? While retaining an official agnosticism, my sense after Cohen’s testimony is that the odds are as low as they’ve been since this whole affair started, and the increasing likelihood is that the Steele dossier was, in fact, as Trump’s defenders have long described it — a narrative primarily grounded in Russian disinformation.

In light of the recent revelations regarding the Mueller probe, this column from Ross Douthat looks particularly wise. The burden of proof was very high which makes it all the more reasonable that Mueller would be unable to prove collusion or obstruction of justice. While I would love to see President Trump leave office, it is also important that the burden of proof for these kinds of accusations is still high. While I can understand the anger over the result of the report, I am glad that our institutions held firm.

The Mueller investigation was still incredibly important. It also brought numerous indictments and guilty pleas from many inside the Trump organization and administration, all of which are valuable to helping keep our institutions afloat. Ultimately, the burden of proof was too high, and that is more than okay. It helped lead to other investigations and brought to light how willing Trump was to collude. Ultimately, the burden of proof was too high to charge Trump, and that is more than okay.

CollegeHumor has long been my favorite YouTube Channel, and I recently discovered a video called “The Problem with Frats.” It is pure gold. While I know it is not a good representation of all fraternities it does hit the nail on the head in terms of why it is a troubling institution. If you would like to read more of what I wrote about Greek Life, you can read through my Michigan Review Article that came out earlier in the year here.

Like this:

YouTube has given into randomly demonetizing videos at their discretion, and other sites have randomly deleted content and pages without an explanation. It is absurd behavior from companies that are now some of the biggest publications in the world.

These past couple of weeks have been insanely busy, so it is only normal that two Michigan Review Articles under my name! My first is on Facebook, in which I am critical of their approach to allowing publications to become authorized. I had a fun time writing it, and I hope you check it out!

The major theme for their campaign focuses on accessibility and making life “easier for students to navigate” at Michigan. “We have students from all kinds of backgrounds” Brian explained and it is their job to make the university more open and transparent for everyone involved.

I also got a chance to interview an write on two candidates who were running for LSA Student Government. Mary McKillop and Brian Wang are both good friends of mine and I had a great time talking to them about their platform and many other issues effecting Michigan’s campus. They both won today, which was very exciting for both of them. If you want to read what they are all about, definitely read it over.

Like this:

She started out jovially, joking about how she gets recognized in the strangest places. She then delved into a more serious discussion of contemporary geopolitics as well as the importance of diplomacy. “Diplomacy is one of our arms for negotiation.”

This is from my latest article with the Michigan Review. I covered a talk from former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, in which she joked and warned of threats to democracy. It was a fascinating discussion, and one I encourage you to read about.

Russian Doll – I am bad about watching shows, but I was simply too intrigued to avoid watching Netflix’s latest series, Russian Doll. It is absolutely tremendous, a groundhog day scenario imbued with pain and satire. The story consistently finds ways to surprise and enlighten while staying true to its comedic routes. Natasha Lyonne is great as Nadia, and her initial discoveries and plot points are fascinating and hysterical.

However, the series really becomes special when Alan played by Charlie Barnett is discovered to be going through something similar, which causes the show to go on many fascinating twists and turns. Their dynamic is terrific, where their pain and denial stem from different things and are expressed in different ways, but are ultimately one in the same. It is a brilliant show and at just eight 20 minute episodes, it takes almost no time. 9.3/10

Opioids are just one of the ways Americans are trying to cope with an inhuman new world where everything is flat, where communication is virtual, and where those core elements of human happiness — faith, family, community — seem to elude so many.

The following is from a brilliant article by Andrew Sullivan regarding the Opioid epidemic, and one I cannot commend enough for its scope and brilliance. Andrew Sullivan is a terrific writer, but what makes this piece particularly special is his understanding and compassion toward users and abusers of opioids. It paints a picture of a country that has lost its way, and that has left people behind. Empty voids can be filled in devastating ways, and this is no different. If you want to understand the United States today, look no further than this brilliant piece of journalism.

I couldn’t get past Anderson’s usual clumsiness when dealing with minorities. This is a film where a character is literally whitewashed, an act that makes him more agreeable afterwards. “Isle of Dogs” treats this as a sight gag. It plays more like a confession.

This is from a review of the movie Isle of Dogs by Odie Henderson, a great writer for the Roger Ebert site. The review dwells over a few characters including who are deemed as culturally problematic, most notably a girl in the film named Tracy who is perceived by Henderson to be the “white savior” of the film.

To me, while there were oblique symbols used that may have been misappropriated, I really do not know understand why we have to look at Tracy’s race before dealing with her as a character. Anderson could have been more careful, but this is his world and he choose to have a character with unique story and connection to the case in order to make it palpable. If she was of color I do not think that would have changed anything, and she did not have to be if Anderson did not see it that way. I do not think characterizing it as cultural appropriation is fair, as it is a slippery term to begin with and directors should be able to write their own stories without fear of fitting into a narrow cultural frame.

I liked the movie overall, but was a bit underwhelmed at points. I think Wes Anderson is an incredibly creative mind, and I love much of his work. The animation in this film is particularly astounding including a terrific voice cast. Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, and Bryan Cranston are just a few of the voices for this film, and that is not even the tip of the iceberg. While this film could have been more well thought out, it is hard to be too angry when this film is as fun as it is with so many great performances. 8/10

The world thought it could change China, and in many ways it has. But China’s success has been so spectacular that it has just as often changed the world — and the American understanding of how the world works.

This is from the terrific New York Times profile on China’s rise as a world power and its future as it heads toward a more autocratic future with President Xi Jinping in charge. It raises interesting questions about the value of nationalism and the conventional wisdom of economics and of free expression. It is certainly remarkable that China has been able to last as long as it has, and how it can survive into the future.

Thanksgiving is coming up and one thing I can say I am thankful for is the friendships and people I have met at the University of Michigan, and thankful that my family is safe after the Woolsey Fire roared through my hometown, and after the shooting at Borderline Bar & Grill. I am eternally grateful that they are safe, and my thoughts are with all of those affected. I will be back in town this week, and it will be devastating to see the effects of these devastating events. I can only hope for the best for the future, and with that I would like to wish all of my readers a happy early thanksgiving.